Sigeumchi namul is an easy Korean side dish (banchan) made with spinach. Simply blanch the spinach and season it. This recipe shows different ways to season the spinach.
Sigeumchi namul (시금치나물) is a simple Korean side dish (banchan, 반찬) made with spinach. Namul is the general term that refers to a seasoned vegetable dish, and sigeumchi means spinach in Korean.
There are an infinite number of vegetables used to make nauml dishes in Korea. Spinach is one of the most common ones. It typically is served as part of the three color vegetable dishes (samsaek namul) served on traditional holidays. Sigeumchi namul is also highly common in bibimbap.
Although the cooking time and seasonings vary, making namul dishes with green leafy vegetables usually involves blanching the vegetables and squeezing out the water content, followed by seasoning with a few basic ingredients. If you have these simple techniques down, you can make namul dishes with many different vegetables! Try it with baby kale, watercress, snow pea tips, etc.
As I usually do for my bibimbap recipe, you can simply season the spinach with salt along with some minced garlic, sesame oil and sesame seeds.
You can also season the spinach with guk ganjang, 국간장 (Korean soup soy sauce) instead of salt. Guk ganjang is a traditional soy sauce made as a byproduct of making doenjang, 된장 (Korean fermented soybean paste). While it’s better known as soy sauce for soups, it’s common for namul dishes, especially in country cooking. It adds a little umami boost to the vegetables!
Another ingredient that’s great for sigeumchi namul is gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste). Gochujang gives so much flavor and a little spicy kick!
Try all these different options and let me know which one is your favorite.
More vegetable side dishes:
Watercress Namul
Putbaechu (Young Cabbage) Doenjang Muchim
Sesame Broccoli
15 Korean Vegetable Side Dishes
Watch How to Make It
For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Ingredients
Mild
- 1 bunch spinach about 10 ounces
- 1 scallion chopped
- 2 teaspoons guk ganjang, 국간장 (soup soy sauce) or use salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- salt and pepper to taste
Spicy
- 1 bunch spinach about 10 ounces
- 1 scallion chopped
- 2 to 3 teaspoons gochujang 고추장 (Korean red chili pepper paste)
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Trim off the roots from the spinach. Wash thoroughly until there is no sand in the water. Blanch the spinach in salted boiling water until wilted, 20 to 30 seconds.
- Quickly remove the spinach from the pot and shock in icy cold water to stop the cooking.
- Drain and gently squeeze out excess water. Cut into 3-inch lengths.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix everything well by hand, loosening/separating the spinach pieces that have been clumped up together. It will take about 10 minutes for the flavor of the seasonings to seep into the spinach.
Notes
Have a bowl of ice water ready before blanching the spinach.
Tried this recipe?Mention @koreanbapsang or tag #koreanbapsang!
This recipe was originally posted in February 2011. It’s been updated with new photos and more information.
Amy says
This is so simple and delicious! I love spicy but I can eat the mild version every day and not get tired of it. Thank you!
An says
Wow. What a professional using the handle of the knife to crush the garlic. I thought it was a special device.
Sara says
I love this. We had it with some other banchan and spicy pork bulgogi. It was delicious and easy.
Cristal says
This was absolutely delicious. It was an easy recipe and was so PACKED with flavor! thank you.
Hyosun says
Awesome! Thank you for trying it out.
Jackie says
This was great! I made the spicy version. It brought back cravings for BiBimBop. I did a whole pound of spinach (in the plastic box) and increased the rest accordingly. It fit nicely in a 2 cup storage container. My friends are gonna love this. thanks for the recipe!
Helene says
Fantastic! I made this to go in the mayak gimbap and it was amazing.
Judi says
Thanks for this recipe. I love all kinds of banchan.
Any tip if you can make this dish in advance (like 1 day before) and how long will this dish stay good to be eaten?
Looking forward to more great recipes.
All the best from The Netherlands!
Hyosun says
You can make it a day ahead. If you’re serving it to guests, you can hold the sesame oil until serving. It’s best to eat within 4 days. Just make sure to squeeze out the water tightly. Hope this helps.
Carol says
Made this for the first time as my contribution towards Mom’s New Years meal. She loved it and took the leftovers! Thank you for your great recipes that please my Korean mom!
Lisa says
This was delicious! I made the first option from the video. It was easy to make, and we had all of the ingredients on hand. Thank you!
Berrin Ergun-Longmire says
I tried almost all the recipes and they all were delicious!
Easy to make. Thank you for sharing them.
Nikki says
Hi, I love your recipes! Is it possible to make these side dishes ahead and in bulk? If so how long can it survive in my fridge?
Hyosun says
The side dishes made with fresh vegetables generally keep well for up to 4 days.
Christina Espinoza says
Just made last night as a side dish with my bulgulgi and it was a sure win! Just like how grandma would make! I opted in for a more spicy spinach and it was so good. My boyfriend who is American, also liked it!
Robin Porter says
Hi Hyosun,
You ROCK!!!!, what such a wonderful recipe, very tasty and fresh greens, cannot go wrong with this recipe. Using fresh ingrients made this side dish very sucessful with my family and friends, everyone wanted the recipe.
Thank you,
Robin
Alexandra says
Just got recipe, but it is very appetizing. Ingredients very well described.
Kittu says
How long can I keep this in the fridge?
Hyosun says
It should be for 3 to 4 days.
Hao says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I am curious to know if frozen spinach can be used in place of fresh spinach. I read that frozen spinach is cut & blanched before flash frozen.
Hyosun says
Well, you can but I’d think it would be too soft for this dish.
Krys says
I did the recipe with frozen spinach and it was good! It isn’t as great as fresh spinach but it works in a pinch and saves time from going to the store.
Linda J says
I can never get recipes right, but yours are so easy to follow! I followed your recipe and even had the ice water prepared like your note suggested. Your website gives me courage. Thank you for the easy to follow directions and helpful tips. Also love the background. My spinach came out awesome! Even my husband loved it.
Nitika Bhasin says
Loved the recipe. Thank you.
Diane says
I just made a version of this (the non-spicy one) using snow pea tips (the leaves & soft stems — so delicious) and some perilla leaves from my garden. just for fun, I used some perilla oil instead of sesame oil (to me, it tastes pretty similar). it’s so delicious! soup soy sauce REALLY makes a difference in namul. thank you!
Me says
This recipe is amazing! It came out even better than I’d remembered. Definitely something that I’ll make again
Hyosun says
Great! I’m so glad to hear that.
syirara says
for how long I can keep this in the refrigerator?
Hyosun says
Should be fine 3 to 4 days. Enjoy!
Jude says
Hyosun, any reason I couldn’t use Chinese water spinach instead? I like the taste and I can buy it cheaper than actual spinach
Hyosun says
You can use any similar green leaf vegetables. Enjoy!
Debbie says
Wonderful spinach dish. If you don’t like spicy, cut down on the chili paste.
Will says
Please advise if the ingredients is intended for two servings.
Thanks,
Hyosun says
This is a side dish, so it really depends on what other side dishes you have and the size of the serving. Having said that, this should be enough for 2 to 4 people as a side dish. Hope this helps.
Will says
Thank you. We will be trying this tonight.
Judith Skilang says
This is the first time I’ve seen it written down as a recipe. I was taught by my Korean girlfriends, and that was by how it was to taste. Now I can share it with my other friends and relatives. Thank you.
Hyosun says
Great! Thanks for spreading the word!
isa says
is there a way to print this recipe?
J. Park says
I’d love to make this with your Dak Bulgogi recipe for dinner tonight…I only have prepackaged baby spinach though! Is that an okay substitute? Thank you!
Hyosun says
Sorry if I am too late to respond for your dinner. Hope you tried it with baby spinach. It just needs to be cooked very briefly because it’s so tender.
Barb Melrose says
Is this dish supposed to be served hot or should it be refrigerated and served cold?
Hyosun says
Usually served at room temperature or cold. Thanks!
nicole kim says
This is the only Korean side dish my husband will eat! I made this along with your slow cooker kalbi chim and they were both soo good. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipes and looking forward to seeing more recipes!
Hyosun says
Hi Nicole – You’re welcome! I’m very happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed it.Thanks for letting me know!
rebecca @ beurrista says
I am trying it tonight, with some kalbi bought at hmart.
Looking forward to it!
Hyosun Ro says
Sounds great! Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks, Rebecca!
rebecca @ beurrista says
I am making this tonight with some kalbi. Looking forward to it!
Hyosun Ro says
Thank you, Lilluz! Glad your husband liked it. You know spinach is good for us. Happy cooking!
Lilluz says
My dear Korean husband always used to tell me that he doesn’t like spinach. I made this tonight, he tentatively tasted it and rated it 10 out of 10! This is a testament of how good your recipe is! Thank you very much for sharing!
Judy says
Mmm, I’ve enjoyed a similar spinach dish at a local Korean restaurant and have always wondered how to recreate it. I’m certain yours will be better. 🙂 One of my favorite vegetables is cooked spinach and I’ll look forward to giving your recipe a try. I think it will be a great side dish to the pre-marinated Korean beef (yes, b/c I’m too lazy to make my own so I buy store-bought) that my family likes. Thanks for sharing!
5 Star Foodie says
A very flavorful preparation of spinach, this is an excellent side dish!
A little bit of everything says
this salad sounds delicious. love the flavors you put in it. thanks for sharing
A SPICY PERSPECTIVE says
I’ve never wanted to eat spinach so much in my life. this sounds fantastic!
Nau says
That looks yummy, thanks for sharing! I love gochujang so I can see it making anything taste good. 😉
Add A Little Love says
I am popping back to say thank you for visiting my blog. I also browsed your blog. Love it. I am a super fun of Korean food. Will come back often to visit your blog.
Amy
Anonymous says
I made this last night. We enjoyed it a lot. Thanks for posting.
Hugh in Dallas
Rachel {Mother's Mementos} says
Hello! I found your site through Chef Dennis and absolutely love it! I think it’s sweet that you’ve created this for your children. I’m also Korean and whenever I asked my mom for recipes and measurements for her dishes, she said there were none! She eyeballs everything and learned from watching. I regret not having paid better attention to her cooking while I was growing up. But I’m making up for it now.
And your recipes will surely help! My parents and in-laws will both be impressed. 🙂
-Rachel
Alejandra Ramos says
My husband would love this…
denise @ quickies on the dinner table says
I really, really love how some form of chilli or other features in so many Korean dishes! I would be happy to eat nothing but Korean food for a long , long time before I start craving anything else! This is simple, but no less lovely for it. Thanks for sharing 🙂